Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1887-09-08

Not every person who has spent
most Of his life in any industrial pur.
suit has learned much that is new and
valuable. and not every one who has
acquired much useful information Is
able and willing to impart the knowl-
edge he has gained to others. Such.
however, is not the case with Robert
Douglas. the great nurseryman and
tree-planter. At the recent conven-
ton of nurserymen in this city, he told
how he became interested in forestry.
and what progress he had made in it.
When he came to the West he
learned from the ''old settlers" that
tame grass and trees would not grow
ON the prairies. He read most of the
Eastern works of forestry and learned
from them that forest trees would do
will if planted on land that was COW
cred with soil, and that coniferous
seedlings could do best started in open
ings in a natural forest He set out trees
on the prairie that had never been
broken and had poor success with
them. He subdued the soil and found
that they grew like weeds, though 1t
was necessary to keep the weeds in
subsection. He then ascertained that
seedlings could be raised better in
nursery than in openings made among
forest trees.
Numerous experiments convinced
him that native trees are generally
much preferable to those obtained in
foreign countries. They are better
adapted to our soil and climate. We
can see what they will do by observing
them in natural woods. Not only are
native trees best, but experience shows
that it is advisable to plant the seeds of
trees that grow in the vicinity of ones
own home. The black walnut grows
wild from the great lakes to the Gulf of
Mexico. but nuts obtained in the South
are not likely to produce hardy trees in
the North. The southern nuts may all
terminate and produce small trees that
appear to be very promising. but the
chances are that they will be killed
down to the ground the first cold win
ter. Black walnut trees raised from
Northern seed are of slow growth, but
quite certain to be hardy. The like is
true of red cedar trees, that grow in
almost every state and territory. Most
kinds of trees, like Indians, can acquire
peculiar characteristics by being grown
for years in one part of the country.
Removed to place where the climate
and soil are quite different they do not
do well.
Mr.. Douglas has ascertained that the
methods practiced by European for
esters in raising seedlings, in trans
planting them. are quite too costly for
this country, VIII, Re- labor is high. They
spade and trench the land intended for
seed beds. dig the trees with spades,
and cultivate them with hand-hoes.
Then the work is almost all done with
horses and the implements they draw.
The seedlings are raised on mellow
soil that is free from weeds, and are
taken up with tree-digger drawn by
horses. The raw prairie is prepared
for setting out trees as it is for raising
a crop of corn. 1t is broken shallow
in the summer, and the coming fall the
sod in the burrows is inverted and the
pillow run deep enough to throw some
three inches of earth over it. Before
planting the harrow and roller are
used on it, and the marker used to lay
off the rows to run in both directions,
the same as for crop of corn. New
land is in many respects preferable to
old. Its fertility has not been ex-
hausted, and it contains no weed seeds
unless they are scattered to the wind.
Small trees can be set on land pre-
pared as for planting corn very rapid
ly. A spade will remove earth enough
to make a hole that will contain the
roots. When the roots have been
placed in position the spadeful of soil
can be thrown over them and pressed
down by the foot of the planter. Two
men can work on adjoining rows and
smart boy can keep them supplied
with trees to set out and place them in |
the holes that are dug. Two men and |
boy can plant 1850 trees in day if
the ground is well prepared and
marked off, Care and skill in planting
come from practice. The trees are
cultivated us corn is, the hand-hoe be-
ing rarely employed. The best work
is doue by an ordinary two-horse walk
ing cultivator. The young trees should
receive as good attention as corn does.
Weeds and grass are as injurious to the
first as the last. If weeds spring up
near young tree they should be pulled
out by hand. The number of years
cultivation required will depend on the
varieties of trees planted. Some make
a slow and others rapid growth. The
cultivation in either case must continue
till the trees are large enough to shade
the ground, and thus prevent the
growth of weeds. Experience has
taught Mr. Douglas that it is best to
plant different kinds of trees by them
selves if they are to be cultivated as he
directs. He says it requires twice if
not four times the amount of work to
remove the native trees from an acre